OCTOBER 2014 The economic and social impacts of protecting the environmental values of the waters of the Capricorn and Curtis Coasts Report prepared for the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection Marsden Jacob Associates Financial & Economic Consultants ABN 66 663 324 657 ACN 072 233 204 Internet: http://www.marsdenjacob.com.au E‐mail: [email protected] Melbourne office: Postal address: Level 3, 683 Burke Road, Camberwell Victoria 3124 AUSTRALIA Telephone: +61 3 9882 1600 Facsimile: +61 3 9882 1300 Brisbane office: Level 14, 127 Creek Street, Brisbane Queensland, 4000 AUSTRALIA Telephone: +61 7 3229 7701 Facsimile: +61 7 3229 7944 Perth office: Level 1, 220 St Georges Terrace, Perth Western Australia, 6000 AUSTRALIA Telephone: +61 8 9324 1785 Facsimile: +61 8 9322 7936 Sydney office: 119 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest New South Wales, 2065 AUSTRALIA Telephone: +61 418 765 393 Authors: Jim Binney, Gene Tunny (alphabetical order) Contact: Gene Tunny, +61 7 3229 7701 This report has been prepared in accordance with the scope of services described in the contract or agreement between Marsden Jacob Associates Pty Ltd ACN 072 233 204 (MJA) and the Client. Any findings, conclusions or recommendations only apply to the aforementioned circumstances and no greater reliance should be assumed or drawn by the Client. Furthermore, the report has been prepared solely for use by the Client and Marsden Jacob Associates accepts no responsibility for its use by other parties. Copyright © Marsden Jacob Associates Pty Ltd 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Key messages .................................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Terms of reference ...................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Purpose of this study ................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Context ....................................................................................................................................... 5 2. Capricorn Coast .......................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Socio‐economic profile – Capricorn Coast .................................................................................. 12 2.3 Water quality in the Capricorn Coast .......................................................................................... 21 2.4 Benefits of maintaining Environmental Values ........................................................................... 26 2.5 Costs of improving or maintaining water quality objectives ........................................................ 30 3. Curtis Coast ............................................................................................................... 35 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 35 3.2 Socio‐economic profile – Curtis Coast ........................................................................................ 36 3.3 Water quality in the Curtis Coast ................................................................................................ 45 3.4 Benefits of maintaining Environmental Values ........................................................................... 54 3.5 Costs of improving or maintaining water quality objectives ........................................................ 58 4. Implementation issues .............................................................................................. 69 4.1 Intervention choice .................................................................................................................... 69 4.2 Enhancing intervention efficiency ............................................................................................... 72 LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Demographic summary 2001, 2006, 2011 – Capricorn Coast .................................................................... 13 Table 2: Educational attainment – Capricorn Coast ............................................................................................... 15 Table 3: Employed persons by industry – Capricorn Coast ..................................................................................... 17 Table 4: Estimated anthropogenic loads data for key pollutants – Capricorn Coast ............................................... 23 Table 5: Economic and demographic drivers and future risks to EVs ...................................................................... 25 Table 6: Gross value of commercial fishing catch (2005) ........................................................................................ 28 Table 7: Consumer surplus from recreational fishing in the Capricorn Coast region ............................................... 29 Table 8: Key rural land uses (2009) ........................................................................................................................ 30 Table 9: Regional groundcover statistics ............................................................................................................... 31 Table 10: Urban diffuse management – estimated costs and load reductions over the next 10 years ...................... 33 Table 11: Indicative wastewater treatment costs (annual $ per tonne of pollutant removed) ................................. 34 Table 12: Demographic summary 2001, 2006, 2011 – Curtis Coast ........................................................................ 37 Table 13: Educational attainment – Curtis Coast ................................................................................................... 40 Table 14: Employed persons by industry – Curtis Coast ......................................................................................... 41 Table 15: Estimated anthropogenic loads data for key pollutants – Curtis Coast .................................................... 49 Table 16: Economic and demographic drivers and potential future risks to EVs ..................................................... 50 Table 17: Gross value of commercial fishing catch (2005) ...................................................................................... 56 Table 18: Consumer surplus from recreational fishing in the Curtis Coast region ................................................... 57 Table 19: Key rural land uses (2009) ...................................................................................................................... 59 Table 20: Regional groundcover statistics ............................................................................................................. 59 Table 21: Urban diffuse management – estimated costs and load reductions over the next 10 years ...................... 61 Table 22: Indicative wastewater treatment costs (annual $ per tonne of pollutant removed) ................................. 64 Table 23: Major projects in the Curtis Coast region (established and emerging) ..................................................... 66 Table 24: Recommended intervention options ..................................................................................................... 70 LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: Regional context map .............................................................................................................................. 4 Figure 2: Map of the Capricorn Coast .................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 3: Population projections – Capricorn Coast ............................................................................................... 12 Figure 4: Average weekly gross family income – Capricorn Coast .......................................................................... 14 Figure 5: SEIFA indices – Capricorn Coast, 2011 .................................................................................................... 15 Figure 6: EMC‐related visitations .......................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 7: Operational mines – Capricorn Coast ...................................................................................................... 20 Figure 8: Map of the Curtis Coast .......................................................................................................................... 35 Figure 9: Population projections – Curtis Coast ..................................................................................................... 36 Figure 10: Average weekly gross family income – Curtis Coast .............................................................................. 38 Figure 11: SEIFA indices – Curtis Coast, 2011 ......................................................................................................... 39 Figure 12: Gladstone region visitors for the year ending September 2011 .............................................................. 44 Figure 13: Operational mines – Curtis Coast .........................................................................................................